One of the fastest ways to improve is pickleball wall drills.

Not only do you multiply your reps compared to a game, but if done with intention, you can improve your game fast.

Today we’re going to look at a few solo wall drills. With only 20 minutes, not only will you get some quality reps but you may even surprise yourself with how fast you improve.

Drilling for 15-20 minutes can get you hundreds of more reps than a regular session of doubles, but when you drill, you want to focus on intentional touches to help build good muscle memory. The good news is you can do all of this with a wall on your own time. When you drill with a wall, you want to focus on getting a good feel of the ball, your consistency with aim and placement, and body mechanics. Also, the wall will provide immediate feedback, so watch for that and use it to your advantage.

In this pickleball wall drills session, we’ll look at:

• Dinks
• Speedups / Resets
• Overheads
• Hand/Eye Coordination

Watch the full video here.

Pickleball Wall Drill #1: Dinks

To start off we’ll be doing dinks on forehand, backhand, and a figure eight.  

I’ve got tape at 36 inches, my nvz line at 7 feet, and a box that is about 8 inches.

To make it fun, I like to aim for 50 collective shots in the box. 50 in the box of the forehand, 50 with backhand, and 50 figure eight. 

If you have to chase the ball, don’t worry, just keep going and keep count.

For dinks, you’ll want to focus on a few things:

• Compact, smooth swings
• Keep the ball out front
• Bend your knees
• Use your shoulder
• Take your time and watch the ball
• Get consistent contact with the sweet spot
• Use soft hands with a grip pressure of 3 out of 10

If you want to add some challenge, you can do some strength and conditioning in between drills. For this I will be doing 3 sets of squats at 60 seconds. This will help simulate your conditioning throughout a normal session of playing. 

Pickleball Wall Drill #2: Corner Dinks

Next up we have corner dinks.

Use similar mechanics as wall dinks, but work on:

• your reaction time, 
• beating the ball to the spot, and 
• returning the ball with consistency.

For this I’ll do 100 returns above the kitchen line.

If you’re following along with the conditioning, I’ll do 3 sets of jump squats at 60 seconds. If jump squats aren’t your thing, you can try lunges or regular squats.

Pickleball Wall Drill #3: Speed Up / Reset

This is a fun drill because you can practice two things at once. This focuses on a speed up with one hand and then a reset with the other side. 

I’m starting with a  forehand speed up and then a backhand block reset.

Then a backhand speed up and a forehand block reset.

I’m doing 50 for each side above the net line.

It may take some time at first, but take it slow, stay controlled and go at a slow pace if you have to. 

On this drill you’ll want to

• After your speed up, you want to watch the ball come off the wall –
• Reset the ball out front
• Keep your paddle still
• Open your paddle face slightly
• Make sure the ball is bouncing in front of you with your resets. This is feedback from the wall that your pace on the ball is good.

For conditioning, I will be doing line jumps at 3 sets of 60 seconds.

Pickleball Wall Drill #4: Overheads

One of the worst things in pickleball is getting an easy popup that you hit into the net.

For this drill I’m getting the ball high, spotting it, side shuffling (not running backwards) and returning the ball over the net.

For conditioning, I will do 3 sets of 60 second shuffle lunges.

BONUS Pickleball Wall Drill #5: Hand / Eye Coordination

If you’d like to work on your hand eye coordination, one easy thing you can do is ball tosses off the wall. You’ll start with 50 in each dot. 

• Right hand high
• Right hand low
• Left hand high
• Left hand low

To add an extra challenge, repeat it but cover the eye that is opposite of your throwing hand. 

For this, you’ll want to focus on keeping your head still and watching the ball off the wall. 

Then repeat it but cover the eye of your throwing hand. This will add an extra challenge. If you want to improve your hand eye coordination, do this drill everyday or every other day and you’ll definitely see some improvements.  

Were These Pickleball Wall Drills Helpful? 

Which pickleball wall drill was most useful for you? Let me know in the comments. Your feedback is helpful and can help shape content in the future.